29 March, 1998

Dear Children,

One more week has flown by and it’s time for another one of them sermonets. And guess what we are going to discuss today? Well, if it will help any I’ll give you a little hint: the title of the message is Vampires In The Church Part III.

Now I hope that none of you have even considered the thought of us being through with this one yet, because we’re not. Actually it seems as though we’re just getting started. And because of that, I do hope that none of the material included in these letters has offended any of you; well at least to the point of making you turn away. You see it’s my desire to open up the truth from the Word of God for my children and the world to see. That is my only purpose in writing these letters. In fact I even went so far as to send Mr. Michael A. Gallagher (writer of Official "Not A Jack T. Chick" Tract) an e-mailed copy of Vampires In The Church Part I. And in return he e-mailed me the following short note:

Dear Bruce,

I assume by what you sent me that you support Jack Chick!?

As evidence by what I have written, Jack Chick is at best a person who is mistaken about his interpretation of Catholicism and at best an outright liar. I can accept that he disagrees with the Catholic interpretation, but I can not accept that he continually misstates the Catholic teaching.

Since what he writes about Catholicism is virtually all a misrepresentation, I can not place any faith in anything he writes.

Now this story is something else. Even if it happened, which I doubt very much, it has nothing to do with Catholicism or Orthodoxy. It has to do with the gullibility of the person who got involved in the cult and their lack of trust and faith in God.

But thanks anyway for the humorous story. (LOL)

May God bless you and guide you,

Mike Gallagher

"For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you."

As you can see Mr. Mike Gallagher still doesn’t think too much about Mr. Jack Chick, but that’s OK. You see it’s just as I told Mr. Gallagher in my most recent e-mail (which included a copy of Vampires In The Church Part II): just show me in the Holy Bible where I’m wrong about what I believe in (using chapter and verse) and I’ll gladly publish the corrections to my error. And by the way, relating to Mr. Gallagher’s Scripture at the end of his letter (Matthew 7:1-2) but reading it this time from the King James Version, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." The word judge (krino in Greek) means "to assume the office of judge." In other words it is the judge’s responsibility to determine the innocence or guilt of the person being tried, and then follow through by setting them free or chopping off their head. And of course it’s just as the Scripture says; none of us have the authority to determine who is to live (forever) and who is to die (forever). But what we as Christians do have the right and authority to do is to tell everyone the truth about the Word of God... and that’s what I’m trying to do... because there’s a whole lotta people who’s lives depend on it.

And that’s also the very good reason why we are continuing on with our discussion on Vampires In The Church. Because as you should all remember from part I, this entire series started off in response to Mr. Gallagher’s comment on the Internet. And just to refresh your memories as to what he said concerning Jack T. Chicks publication The Death Cookie here are his comments:

"This tract deals very irreverently with the Sacrament of the Eucharist that was instituted by Christ himself. The basic justification for the Sacrament is found throughout the Bible. In the old testament, we have the account of the Passover where the spotless male lamb was sacrificed. In order for the Angel of Death to passover the house of the Israelites, the blood of the lamb had to be put on the doorpost and the flesh of the lamb had to be consumed. Only through this command of God would the family be spared! In the New Testament starting at John 6:22 and running through John 6:71, we see that Jesus says, not just once but four times, that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have everlasting life. This is so difficult to accept that many walk away. But the apostles stay, even though they do not understand what Jesus is saying. Finally at the last supper, Jesus gives the apostles the means to fulfill the command He gave in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. He celebrates the last supper where He gives us His Body and Blood. So in the New Testament, we have the sacrifice of the sinless male lamb of God to allow us to passover into Heaven. The parallel with the Old Testament is unmistakable. The flesh of the lamb must be consumed to be saved!"

Yup! That’s what Mr. Gallagher said and that’s what the Catholic’s believe. Because as it is found written in the Handbook For Today’s Catholic: "In every Mass, Christ is present, both in person of his priest and especially under the form of bread and wine. In every Mass, his death becomes a present reality, offered as our sacrifice to God in an unbloody and sacramental manner. As often as the sacrifice of the cross is celebrated on an altar, the work of our redemption is carried on [1333, 1350, 1372]. At Mass we offer Christ, our passover sacrifice, to God, and we offer ourselves along with him. We then receive the risen Lord, our bread of life, in holy Communion. In so doing, we enter into the very core of the paschal mystery of our salvation--the death and resurrection of Christ [1330, 1356-1359]."

You see in each and every Mass the Catholic priest turns the wine and bread into the blood and flesh of Jesus... and then they drink it... and then they eat it... and they do it because that’s what they say the Word of God says to do. But of course that’s where I disagree! And it was in part II of Vampires In The Church that I related this practice of the Eucharist in the Catholic church to that of a very similar Satanic practice called vampirism. And just so it will stay fresh on your mind let’s read that one little paragraph from last week’s message just one more time:

Everybody who’s in their right mind wants to be able to "live forever"; nobody should want to "die forever". And it’s these people who are involved in the worship service of Satan that can’t have the everlasting promise of life eternal because they don’t have their faith in (and a resulting life with) Jesus Christ. So in order for them to come up with their very own plan of salvation (and might I add one that won’t work) they have invented this "salvation process" called vampirism. And it was Bill the "ex" vampire who went on to tell us the rest of the story: "The very cornerstone of the Satanic cult’s existence and survival lay in the central ritual of Orthodoxy and Catholicism -- the Eucharist (Mass) or "Divine Liturgy."... doctrine of Transubstantiation (that the bread and wine is LITERALLY turned into the Body and Blood of Christ)..."

So continuing on with the discussion of last week’s sermonet on John chapter 6, was this process of turning wine to blood and bread to flesh actually what Jesus meant for us to do in order to be saved? Did Jesus mean for the priest to perform this awesome miracle or did He mean for it to be a symbolic representation only? You see it’s absolutely necessary that we know the truth, so let’s continue on with our investigation.

Going back to Mr. Gallagher’s comments on The Death Cookie, I’ll have to admit to agreeing with him on one point that he made; the Old Testament and the New Testament do agree on the answer, but I’m afraid it’s not exactly the answer that most Catholics are looking for. You see the answer to everyone’s question, as to what is correct, started way back in the book of Genesis. So reading from chapter 9 verses 1-4, "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."

What we have just read took place right after the great flood that wiped out all of God’s created beings (well, maybe not quite all of them). You see it wiped out almost all of God’s created beings with the exception of those saved on the God’s good boat of salvation (Noah’s ark). And from the beginning of time with Adam and Eve up until the time of Noah there just wasn’t any such thing as fried chicken, hamburgers, or pheasant under glass; people just didn’t eat meat. Everybody was what you would call vegetarians until God told them it was OK to add a T-bone along with the baked potato and salad. But, along with His approval to kill for food God added a warning about what to do with the blood. And the important thing He said about the blood was don’t eat it.

Now this thing about animals putting their heads on the chopping block for us humans (sacrifice) didn’t just happen after the flood; it went way back before then. In fact turning back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 6 and reading through chapter 4 verse 16 we can get a pretty clear picture of just how it all began. You see in the beginning was the Garden of Eden, and in that place called paradise was Adam, Eve, and Satan (well let’s not forget the animals). It was just the three of them with God making His earthly appearance once a day. Adam and Eve had it made with only one "no" in their vocabulary. They could do anything that their hearts desired except eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the only thing God the Father had said "no" to. In fact even the thought of eating the fruit of this tree should have been an automatic absolute (no questions asked) NO!!! to the both of them. But of course we all know that it was Satan’s purpose for being in paradise to change that "no" to a "yes" and he did a pretty good job of it. Well he didn’t actually change God’s "no" but he did make Adam and Eve think that He had.

And that’s right about when "...the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat... And the LORD God... unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life... And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

And what we have just read was the very first occurrence of God’s creations called "animals" giving their life for the sins of man and woman. You see in the beginning Adam and Eve were both naked and they didn’t even know it because it didn’t really matter. In the beginning their bodies were perfectly sinless and healthy while living in the beautiful garden of paradise. They didn’t need clothing until they did what God had told them not to do; they sinned!!! And it was only after this first sin that they were booted out of the good life into the real world of heat, cold, and thorns. And now that they were going to need protection for their soft and tender skin God made them a set of leathers from some poor old innocent animal... and this was the first sacrifice. This was the very first time an animal gave it’s life so that man and woman (Adam and Eve) could continue to live.

That was the beginning of the animal sacrifice, but it certainly didn’t stop there. Reading on into chapter 4, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. "

You see what we have here is Satan’s second attempt to once again mess up what God has said would be. It was already bad enough that Adam and Eve were in the fix that they were in; kicked out of the luxury suite accommodations because of disobedience to the Word of God. I mean you would think that the first time should have taught someone a lesson. But then again, just maybe Adam and Eve didn’t do too good of a job teaching their kids what they should have learned themselves. So once again what followed was Satan tricking Cain into offering a sacrifice that wasn’t the sacrifice God had asked for. And since it wasn’t what God wanted it didn’t work as God had intended... and God told Cain what He thought of his sacrifice... and Cain got mad.

Now I want you to think about what we are reading and how it might apply to the controversy over the wine and bread being real blood and flesh. God has designed it one specific way, and any other way just ain’t a gonna do what it was intended to do. So here we have Cain who has been told the facts by God, but because he was determined to have it his way makes a big mess of the whole thing.

Because reading on, "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yeild unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth... And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."

It is absolutely so very important that we follow God’s plan to a "T". Because if we don’t do it the way God has planned it then we ain’t doing it for God. And that’s why the Scripture went on to say, after Cain refused to correct the error of his choice of sacrifices, "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD"... and that was the end of that. Since Cain couldn’t have it his way he just wasn’t going to have it at all. Sound familiar?

Well that was the way the plan of the sacrifice all started. Adam and Eve’s first sin brought about the need for animals to die and give their skins for clothing. And then because of the fact that this first original sin of Adam and Eve was handed down to their children, it then became necessary for their children to offer up the life of an animal for their sins. And then after the flood it became necessary for the animal to not only give it’s life and skin as a sacrifice, but also its flesh. Mankind had full rights to kill the animal and use it’s skin and meat for clothing and food, but there was still one other part of the animal that God said "thou shalt not" use. And this one remaining part of the animal that God said mankind couldn’t partake of was it’s blood; "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."

And all this that we have read thus far was still only "in the beginning". Because as we will continue on into the Scriptures we will see this warning by God the Father ("But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.") get stronger and stronger. And to prove my point let’s turn to Leviticus 3:12-17 and read, "And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about... It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood."

Now I won’t even begin to cover all the Scriptures dealing with this subject but yet another is found in Leviticus 7:22-27. Reading, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat... For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people."

Once again God instructs His people on this very important issue that in no way will they eat any kind of blood. Now that one rule (law) was not meant to be around for just one or two years; it was meant to be forever (perpetual). And knowing how hard it was for the descendants of Adam and Eve to obey God’s laws, He went on to lay down the plan of punishment for those who decide to do otherwise. You see if they just had to have it their way, and they choose to eat any manner of blood in disobedience to God’s law, then they were promised to be "cut off from his people". And just in case you don’t know what that meant, then please allow me to explain. It meant, without going into great detail, that those eating blood would have their lights put out. I mean like God would take care of their eating problem by taking away any and all opportunity to eat. You see Moses would see to it that they were in this life no more, and the worst part about it was the life they would end up in certainly wouldn’t be with God.

But let’s not stop there. Reading once again from Leviticus but from chapter 17, verses 1-14, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying... whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul... For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off."

If you will notice God has been steadily building on this one rule of not eating blood. It started with the basics "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat" and has now gotten into the very detailed specifics of "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul..."

You see this whole thing about the life’s blood of an animal being used as a sacrifice for a human sinner came about because the sinner deserved to die. And since it was the animal’s life (blood) that was to be used temporarily in place of the sinner’s life (blood) then it was absolutely necessary for the animal to die. And since it was the life’s blood of the animal that had to be offered up to God before it could do it’s intended job (a substitution) it was absolutely necessary that it went to God and not man. But if man ate the blood instead of giving it to the Lord then the sacrifice wasn’t a true sacrifice to the Lord and it didn’t do the sinner any good. The life (which is the blood) of all creatures belongs to God and not man and that’s why God said don’t eat it. Understand?

OK. With all that having been said let’s focus on the devil of all devils. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that since Satan wants to be God he tries his best to get people to do things his way. And since his way ain’t God’s way what results is this thing called demon worship. And that’s why in Leviticus 19: 26-28 we find God’s law saying "don’t eat blood" being specifically directed at the practice of worshipping Satan. Because reading it for ourselves, "Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD."

You see all these things listed in Leviticus 19 were nothing more than practices Satan successfully used to win over souls into his kingdom. And of course the very first one mentioned was our favorite subject of the eating of blood and the last one was the present day ever growing popular practice of tattoos. You didn’t know that did ya? Well it’s a fact that the art of decorating one’s body with designs and pictures originated in the worship service of Satan. So regardless of what might be "the in thing to do" I would highly advise not getting messed up with any of these new age body piercing or tattoos.

Well this is as good as a place as any to shut it down until next week when once again we will continue on with the "never ending?" quest (search) of "what’s the truth when it comes to the Eucharist?" [See Ye Shall Not Eat Anything With The Blood! (4/5/98) for part IV of Vampires In The Church.]

Until then, try not to watch any vampire movies, get the straight facts from the Good Book, and keep the faith in God!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)